


Birdsong

by iminnerdvana



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Domestic, F/M, Family, Fluff, Gen, Light Angst, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:55:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26780251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iminnerdvana/pseuds/iminnerdvana
Summary: As the spark grows, bolts of light crackle and charged air surge around her. A rush of power courses through her body and her sharingan comes alive, illuminating the world in vivid colours. The chirping of the birds in the trees mingle with the rising birdsong coming from her hand as, for the first time in her life, Sarada wields the power of lightning.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sarada, Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Sarada & Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 20
Kudos: 66





	Birdsong

Boruto was being annoying again. Sarada sighs for the umpteenth time as he prattles on about some video game she has never heard of. Next to him, Mitsuki smiles and nods along, even though she suspects that he is just as lost. His dedication to their teammate was admirable. As they walk through the village gates, Konohamaru-sensei dismisses them while he heads to the Hokage Tower to deliver the mission report. They had just returned from a week-long escort mission to a nearby town, and Sarada couldn’t wait to go home and wash off all the grime and sweat. **  
**

“And then the final villain in the game used a cool lightning jutsu like Sasuke sensei’s,” Boruto says excitedly, and the mention of her father’s name pricks her ears, forcing her to pay attention to his chatter.

“What jutsu?”

“You know, the one he uses. I asked him to teach it to me but he said only those with a sharingan can use it,” he grumbles, before turning towards her with a cheerful smile. “You should ask him to teach it to you! I bet you will be great at it, dattebasa.”

* * *

Lying down with her head resting in her mother’s lap and watching Princess Gale movies is a time-honoured tradition in the Uchiha household. As she watches the titular princess and her team hack and slash their way through enemy shinobi, Sarada mulls over Boruto’s suggestion. 

Mama’s hand which had been gently combing through her hair stills when Sarada turns towards her.

“Mama, what is that jutsu called? The one papa uses with the lightning? Boruto said you need a sharingan to use it.”

“You mean the chidori?”

The name sounded vaguely familiar to her, so she nods.

“It’s a lightning jutsu that Kakashi-sensei taught your father when he was your age to prepare for the last stage of the chunin exams. Why do you ask?” 

Silence ensues as Sarada’s old insecurities threaten to rise to the surface. She knows her father loves her. She once overheard Uncle Kakashi remarking that the Uchiha feel love stronger than any other clan, and when she thinks about the intensity with which she loves her parents, she knows this to be true. 

“I don’t want to burden him,” she confesses quietly a second later, her voice nearly drowned out by the noises of an explosion as Princess Gale and her comrades effortlessly destroy an enemy base on-screen. “He has so many responsibilities, both in and outside of the village. I don’t want to add to it.” 

Her mother’s gaze saddens as she gently brushes the bangs away from her face. 

“Sarada, your father will never see you as a burden. He loves you and he treasures his time with you. In fact, teaching you fireball jutsu was one of his most precious memories.”

“Really?” Sarada’s countenance brightens at the thought. Her father has lived a life full of adventures—and misadventures—and hearing that the simple task of teaching her their family jutsu was so dear to him warms her heart.

“He told me so himself. When we are alone, he talks about you all the time.”

“Okay,” she exclaims, “then I will ask papa to teach me chidori next time he is in the village,” almost vibrating with excitement at the thought of learning such a high-level jutsu from him.

“Now let’s finish watching the movie. It’s always nice to see a woman save the world, isn’t it?” mama says with a grin. “She’s a wonderful role model”.

Sarada looks at her with a bemused smile and gently rolls her eyes, “I don’t need Princess Gale for that mama, I have you,” which promptly causes her mother, one of the legendary neo-sannin and the strongest kunoichi in the world, to burst into tears.

* * *

Her father’s visits are like rain, Sarada thinks fondly. Sporadic and sudden, but when they arrive they nourish the land and help renew life. Her mother glows during his visits and exudes happiness, and Sarada can’t deny that she feels the same way. 

She hides a small smile in the high collar of her top as she watches her mother fuss over his appearance. “You have gotten too skinny, Sasuke-kun,” she scolds good-naturedly, “are you eating alright?” She catches his mismatched eyes over soft pink hair and they share a fond yet somewhat exasperated smile at her fretting. 

After lunch, Sarada shyly approaches him while he is doing the dishes. He is helpful like that, helping with chores and household duties with no prompting. He says that it’s because he is used to doing them after living on his own since childhood, but Sarada secretly suspects that it is his way of feeling more like a part of their household after so much time away.

“Papa?” wincing at the squeak in her voice.

He dries his hands with the towel before turning towards her with an attentive look.

_Now or never._

She squares her shoulders and takes a deep breath. “Papa, I would like you to teach me chidori,” she asks firmly, trying to keep the nervousness from her voice. She has prepared a dozen arguments for her case and is prepared to launch into a speech when a familiar poke on her forehead takes her by surprise. 

“Hn, tomorrow we will go down to the dock and I will teach it to you,” he replies and the corners of his mouth turn up in a small smile at Sarada’s beaming face.

* * *

The next day Sarada spends hours following her father’s instructions at the same lakeside where he first taught her their clan’s jutsu. She has inherited his affinity for fire and lightning and her mother’s perfect chakra control, but even then learning the chidori is a steep challenge.

When the sun sets without her being able to summon any hint of lightning, papa gently pats her on the head, “You did very well, Sarada”. 

He does that often these days. Since the disastrous start of the parent-child day, he has taken to regularly telling her he was proud of her—almost as if he was afraid that he would wound her if he didn’t. 

On the rare occasions—which thankfully was almost non-existent these days—she feels bitterness at his near-absence during her childhood, she cradles these moments and nurtures them in her heart, replacing the hurt with joy.

“Let’s go home for now, Sakura is waiting for us”.

* * *

Dinner is a lively affair. Her mother has prepared all of their favourite dishes. There were so many tomatoes! Sarada isn’t fond of the fruit and is happy to see that mama has made double of each dish, one for her and one for papa. 

Later, as she lays in bed, she ruminates about the training session and feels frustrated with herself for not being able to do the jutsu. She knows that she’s being silly and impatient. Despite being a prodigy, it took her father almost a month to learn it.

But she has inherited a stubborn streak from both her parents, so she quietly gets dressed, slips out of the balcony by her room and heads back towards the lake.

* * *

As the hours pass by and rays of light announce dawn’s arrival, Sarada keeps focusing on trying to channel her chakra on her hand. Her clothes cling to her skin with sweat and her muscles ache with exhaustion, but she is determined to keep going. She just needs a bit more time when… 

_There—she feels it._

A small spark and accompanying tingle on the tips of her fingers, which quickly dissipates into the cool early morning air. It may have been nothing big, but it was still something—not the chirping of a thousand birds, but at least a tiny baby bird. _I did it _, she grins proudly as the exhaustion overtakes her and she collapses back on to the wooden dock.__

____

____

What feels like moments later, bright sunlight streams across her face and her eyes flicker open when she feels a strong arm gently lift her and the smell of wood smoke and rain fill her nostrils. A feeling of contentment washes over her and she cuddles deeper into her father’s arm. “You shouldn’t have snuck out. Your mother was very anxious when she woke up and saw you missing”.

Guilt churns in her stomach at the thought. “I’m sorry,” she murmurs into his shoulder, “I just wanted to learn it and show it to you”. She hears him say something in response, but exhaustion lulls her back to sleep before she can make out his reply.

* * *

A week goes by. 

Each day, Sarada wakes up at dawn and heads down to the lake with her father. Sometimes he needs to visit Lord Seventh and Shikadai’s father for updates on his missions. But otherwise, he devotes his time to her. Boruto jokingly complains about her taking up all his sensei’s time, but she knows he’s happy for her. If there’s anyone who can empathise with her situation, it’s him. 

Still, a part of her feels guilty that their training has also cut into the time that her parents can spend with each other. When she hesitatingly brings this up, mama is quick to reassure her with a cheerful laugh, as she packs two bentos for the two of them and sends them off for more training.

Progress is slow, but her father’s confidence in her helps wash away her insecurities. And it’s easy to accept her mother’s reassurance and shrug off any residual guilt when this is something she has been wanting to do her entire life.

* * *

A sudden thunderstorm arrives in Konoha the morning before her father is due to leave for his mission. Such storms are rare in Fire Country, and Sarada couldn’t help but glower at the window as streaks of lightning flashed across the sky. Weather like this means that training with him is no longer an option.

Papa is leaving again tomorrow—venturing off to another side of the world or perhaps even another dimension to track down and eliminate the threats to their lives. The threat of the Ōtsutsuki and other unknown evil has been circling in her mind ever since the attacks during her chunin exams. 

It’s a hard life, she muses sadly. To sacrifice your happiness and risk your own life for the sake of others. At least mama and her have each other. But papa is alone with no one to look out for him or keep him company or comfort him during hard times. But it is the shinobi way to endure, so while she doesn’t fault him, she wishes she could somehow unburden his pain and take it on to herself—even if it’s by a little.

Her despondency doesn’t last long. When she ventures into the kitchen, she spies her parents quietly talking amongst themselves. Papa smiles and rolls his eyes at something mama says before gently tapping her forehead. When she spots Sarada standing by the doorway, she beckons her over and suggests that they watch a Princess Gale movie together and she giggles at the thought of her ever so serious father watching such a silly movie.

“Don’t laugh, he’s seen them all before,” mama says amusedly. “Who do you think started this tradition? When you were a baby, it’s all you ever wanted to watch so the three of us would cuddle up and watch them together. I’m pretty sure your father can still recite them from memory,” she continues conspiratorially as papa dips his head slightly to hide the flush on his cheeks. 

As they prepare to start the movie, Sarada heads to the kitchen to make tea for the three of them. She hums to herself while getting papa’s blue mug from its resting place on the top shelf of the cupboard and places it beside her and mama’s pink and red mugs. 

When she returns, she is surprised to see her parents _cuddling_? Mama’s head rests on papa’s shoulder and he is leaning into her. She jumps slightly at the unexpected sight, her cheeks and ears tinged pink, causing some coffee to splash onto the floor. The noise catches her father’s attention, who turns towards her and then pats the other seat next to him with a smile. Hiding her embarrassment at her overreaction, Sarada cuddles up to him and shares a grin with mama on the other side.

As they continue their Princess Gale marathon, Sarada feels almost buoyant with contentment. It was a good day; and even though she is frustrated with herself for not being able to do the jutsu faster, she is grateful for the time they could spend together as a family.

* * *

At dinner, the atmosphere is bittersweet in the way it always is before papa leaves for one of his missions. Mama stays upbeat and talks their ears off about different topics, from funny hospital stories to some gossip Auntie Ino shared with her, desperately trying to hold on to the cheerful mood from earlier.

“I will make a bento for your departure tomorrow, anata. What would you like?” she asks, an almost imperceptible quake in her voice. 

“I’m not leaving tomorrow,” papa says softly before popping a piece of tomato in his mouth.

_Huh?_

“I asked to delay the mission by another day. You have nearly succeeded with being able to use chidori, Sarada. I thought I would stay an extra day and help you,” he explains with a small smile.

Sarada feels tears stinging her eyes, and she jumps from her seat and hugs him tightly enough for him to wince.

* * *

The next day Sarada wakes up at dawn with a spring in her step and scarfs down her breakfast in a breakneck speed leading to amused glances from her parents.

When she leaves the house later with papa by her side, she clings to the empty sleeve of his shirt as it flaps in the wind, hope building in her heart that perhaps today might be the day she finally succeeds.

Yet, as the day continues, Sarada feels her hope slowly fade.

When the small amount of lightning generated fizzles out once more, she can’t help but let out an audible groan of frustration.

“Is everything okay?” her father asks, concern coating his voice.

“How can I be Hokage when I can’t even do this jutsu?” 

“We have only just started and yet you have made more progress in a week than I did when I was learning it. You just need a bit more practice”.

“How can you be so sure?” a petulant, childish whine seeping into her tone. 

“Because you’re strong and I have faith in you,” he replies matter-of-factly, as if the alternative never even occurred to him. 

Sarada feels a prickling sensation behind her glasses at his words and she swallows heavily before turning back towards the water.

And taking a deep breath, she tries again.

A tiny spark blooms in her palm, and salvaging all the chakra she can gather, she focuses on giving it life, pouring in her hopes and fears.

She closes her eyes and remembers what it felt like when her mother was kidnapped by Shin. The fear that gripped her during the chunin exams when her father walked off into the black swirling portal with Boruto by his side. Her desire to protect her precious teammates and friends. 

As the spark grows, bolts of light crackle and charged air surge around her. A rush of power courses through her body and her sharingan comes alive, illuminating the world in vivid colours. The chirping of the birds in the trees mingle with the rising birdsong coming from her hand as, for the first time in her life, Sarada wields the power of lightning.

She looks over at her father and sees a proud look adorning his face. He lifts his hand to poke her forehead affectionately as his mouth curves into a gentle smile.

“That’s my girl”.

**Author's Note:**

> My take of a very important scene (imo) that the manga skipped 😞 
> 
> I know in the anime Sarada learns a lightning jutsu using her sharingan during a school trip but I’m not sure if that is entirely canon? Boruto anime canon/filler is a bit confusing to me tbh. Anyway, I went with chidori being her first lightning jutsu and of course Papasuke taught it to her. 
> 
> I think there are some interesting parallels between Sasuke and Sarada's relationship and Sasuke’s relationship with Fugaku so there are some references to that. 
> 
> I'm a newbie to writing, so I would appreciate any and all feedback 😊


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